With the advancement in technology in recent times human life has become more dependent on machines and gadgets. Overdependence on technology has resulted in a busy lifestyle with people being more careless to their health. One of the major health issues is high blood pressure. Diagnosis of high blood pressure needs a regular dosage of medicine but some smart changes in lifestyle can easily bring your numbers down. Adapting to a healthy lifestyle can avoid and reduce medication for high blood pressure. Some of the listed lifestyle changes can be handy to fight against high blood pressure problem: 1. Lose Weight: Overweight is the main reason for high blood pressure. It can disrupt your breathing while you sleep and can cause sleep apnea which in turn can make numbers higher in BP measuring instruments. Weight loss is an effective change in lifestyle that can control blood pressure. Loosing 10 pounds or 4.5 kg can reduce blood pressure. You should keep an eye on your waistline as carrying too much weight around this area increases the risk of high blood pressure by many folds. You can discuss with your doctor about healthy waist measurement. 2. Exercise regularly Weekly 200 minutes of regular physical activity can lower your blood pressure by a few millimeters of mercury. It's important that you follow this lifestyle activity consistently as break up in the routine can result in high blood pressure again. Prehypertension condition can be restored to safer levels with the help of regular exercise and helps to avoid hypertension condition. The best type of exercise can be walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, and aerobics yoga. Strength training can also help to reduce high blood pressure. An exercise program can be developed by discussing the same with your doctor. 3. Stick to Healthy Diet A healthy diet contains whole grain, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. This approach to a healthy diet is the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. Eating habits are hard to change but the below tips can help to step towards your mission: a. Make a list of food items that are consumed by you. Further, you can write down what, how much and when do you eat, this can be followed for a week and it can shed light on your unhealthy eating habits. b. Boost your potassium level by consuming fruits and vegetables. Potassium can lessen the effect of sodium on blood pressure. c. Be a smart consumer by reading labels before you shop and be aware of your healthy eating habits when you are dining outside. 4. Reduce sodium in diet A small reduction in sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg. Following tips can be handy while controlling sodium: a. Read food labels and choose low-sodium alternatives for food and beverages that you purchase. b. Consume natural food as it contains a small amount of sodium. Avoid consuming processed food as sodium is added during food processing. c. Ease your reduction of sodium and your palate will adjust accordingly. d. Don't add salt overcooked food as one teaspoon contains 2300 mg of sodium. 6. Limit your alcohol drink A small amount of alcohol can lower your blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm of Hg. More than one drink for women and for men older than 65 and more than two for men aged 65 or younger. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer and five ounces of wine. Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can raise blood pressure. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

7. Check your caffeine intake Caffeine's role in elevating blood pressure is still debated. Caffeine can raise blood pressure by 10 mm Hg in people who rarely consume but there is no strong effect on blood pressure in habitual coffee drinkers. To check whether coffee drink increases your blood pressure, measure your blood pressure within 30 minutes of caffeine intake. If your blood pressure increases by 5 to 10 mm Hg, you may be sensitive to the blood pressure raising effect of caffeine. 8. Reduce your stress Stress is an important contributor to high blood pressure if you react to stress by eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, and smoking. Before eliminating stress you need to sit back and analyze the reason to feel stressed like work, family, finance, or illness. Ways to reduce stress Change your expectation and give some to yourself to get things done. Learn to say no and live within manageable limits. Think about problems that are under your control and make a plan to solve them. Know your stress triggers. Avoid them as much as you can. For example avoid driving in rush-hour traffic. Have some time to relax and do things that you enjoy. Try to intentionally enjoy things rather than hurrying through your relaxing activities. Practice gratitude. Expressing thanks for cooperation with others can help to reduce stressful thoughts. Monitor your blood pressure at home and see your doctor Blood pressure monitors can be used to monitor blood pressure at home, you can change your lifestyle and track their benefits further it can alert you and your doctor against potential health complications. Based on the blood pressure control progress, your doctor visit can reschedule to every six months to twelve months. It can be more frequent if blood pressure is not well-controlled. Get Support Supportive family and friends can improve your health. They can drive you to the doctor and accompany you in an exercise program. For finding support beyond family, you can join support groups. These people can give you moral and emotional support to cope up with your condition.